"International terrorism, trans-national crime and disaster mitigation are all areas which require cooperative regional approaches and could be considered as part of our common effort," Union External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said while addressing the East Asia Summit of Foreign Ministers.
"I would like to point out that tackling of international terrorism requires concerted and cooperative approach," he said.
In this context, he said the early adoption of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism by the UN General Assembly would go a long way in dealing with the menace.
The summit emphasised the need to strengthen cooperation among the countries of the region in combating terrorism and extremism.
The meeting strongly condemned last week's bombings in two Jakarta hotels and termed the attack as 'unjustifiable.' Reminding the world about the Mumbai attacks, Krishna said terrorism was a threat to open societies and underlined the necessity of exchange of information and intelligence.
"The threat to our countries from the menace of international terrorism has, unfortunately, increased in recent times. The terrorist attack on our financial capital, Mumbai, in 2008, leading to the loss of hundreds of innocent Indian and foreign lives shook not just our region, but the world as a whole, for the complete disregard of human decency," Krishna said.
Emphasising that terrorism threatens democratic and open societies, Krishna said, "International solidarity is necessary in order to combat this scourge effectively."
Referring to the 2003 Bali Joint Declaration of Association of South East Asian Nations to cooperate in combating international terrorism, Krishna said, "In the light of such terrorist attacks, it is appropriate that we exchange information and intelligence and develop more effective counter-terrorism initiatives, to enable sustainable development of our region."
